Have you ever played a few rounds of, say, online backgammon or poker (just for fun, of course), only to find yourself thinking:"No way! The odds of that happening are a astronomical. This software is intentionally cheating!" You might be right.

In this article originally written for Game Developer Magazine, Neversoft co-founder Mick West presents a thought-provoking look at how the believability of video-game AI opponents is achieved by incorporating "artificial stupidity" and "intelligent mistakes" to make games more entertaining for the player.